SW Radio Africa (London)
Violet Gonda
27 January 2009
Beatrice Mtetwa, the lawyer representing jailed MDC politician Roy Bennett, was in the High Court on Friday challenging the State's decision to appeal against the granting of his bail. On Tuesday High Court Judge Tedious Karwi granted the Deputy Agriculture Minister designate bail, but he remains in a Mutare prison after the State opposed this.
Mtetwa was back in the courts Friday challenging the decision by the Attorney General's office, saying they did not follow proper procedure. The defence team argues that the AG's office had appealed, without seeking permission from the High Court judge. Apparently the State should have first sought permission from the judge to appeal against the granting of bail. One of Bennett's lawyers Trust Maanda said the State has seven days to apply for this permission.
Bennett was arrested two weeks ago at Charles Prince airport, on his way to South Africa where he had been living in exile since 2006. He is being charged with the illegal possession of firearms for purposes of committing banditry, terrorism, insurgency and sabotage. He denies these charges and says he is being politically persecuted.
Meanwhile, Pishai Muchauraya the MDC spokesperson for Manicaland Province and MP for Makoni South, who has been visiting Bennett regularly in prison, said the official is still in good spirits despite the appalling and overcrowded conditions at the prison in Mutare. He said Bennett is being held in the D-Class section of the jail that houses dangerous criminals. Muchauraya said senior prison officers from as far as Masvingo have been deployed to Mutare because Bennett is being viewed as a 'hardcore criminal.'
The MP said the prison conditions for all inmates are disturbing. The remand prison has a capacity of about 160 inmates but is said to be currently holding at least 300. Muchauraya said food is very scarce and six inmates have this week died in just two days because of starvation.
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Note: it has come to this because we lost the March elections," he said.
One has to admire the LOYALTY shown to Mugabe. The man is an icon ! Yes, and we need to take ALL the land back.
We really need to take back (our land),any part we choose. (Period).Happy birthday Pres.,and PM. I love you Both.God bless Africa and America. Oweij Liebo,U.S.A.
leviboone, " We really need to take back ( our) land, any part of it ", you say with uncertainty peeking behind a white man's curtain. Why are you not in your own African land? Because your own black leaders treat you like crap with no rights and that is why you scurry like cockroaches to the West instead of improving your Africa. How nice would it be to return to Africa and find all the rights you enjoyed in the west also there.
Even if you take all the land back, it is not sure you will be able to make good use of it for the benefits of the majority of Zimbos! Mugabe's thugs will fight one another to ensure that they get the largest slice. But then, without agricultural workers, who are now exiled in large numbers to SA, Mugabe's thugs would only sit on the land and speculate.
Confused people like AK47, Hollowjaw, Kubatana6 and group are so vile and filled up with hatred that they let emotions carry their mind. Mugabe plays with their emotions like that of kids.
Zimbos who are dying of cholera need medicines, not land to revert to good health. Destitue Zimbos need two meals a day to ward off famine, not land!
Only fools and idiots can be led by their nose by Mugabe on the land question. It's a sad day for Zimbos since most of the land in question has already been confiscated and distributed to Mugabe's cronies.
Mugabe is very cunning not to spell out a land policy and steps required to fructify it. He can press the button each time he wants idiots to rallye behind him against any genuine move by MDCs to democratise further the institutions of the country.
So I guess, you will feel better if we accept as Africans that we are incapable and just give all our lands to Europeans. Maybe we should just also vacate our country and let the Europeans take over while we are at it.
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